KEDGE's Grande Ecole Programme is evolving with a new teaching approach: Grow by Doing®.

This pedagogical approach, unique to KEDGE's Grande Ecole Programme, aims to expose students to different ways of thinking and to normalise making an impact in the world from their very first year of study. The objective of Grow by Doing®, in addition to teaching knowledge and skills, is for students to put the knowledge and skills they’ve learned into practice in situations outside the usual context of business cases or through fictitious projects.

Aurélie Dehling, Director of the Grande Ecole Programme, stressed, "Our mission today is no longer limited to training our students for the business world. We must offer the ecosystem profiles of unique professionals who are grounded in taking action and who are capable of reshuffling the cards in a society that has a tendency to lose momentum”.

Engaging students in concrete actions that have an impact

The first pillar of Grow by Doing® is based on the "practice of doing". In other words, this new approache immediately engages students in taking concrete actions that make an impact.

The "doing" method has been very present in KEDGE's teaching methods through the Be-U programme, which guides students throughout their studies in developing their skills, as well as improving their employability.

Some of the new courses that will be included in the programme are directly relevant to having an impact on the environment and the region:

• A course in corporate social responsibility (CSR) 'Decarbonisation and Resilience' will be introduced from the start of the 2022 academic year. Within this module, students will be asked to observe the school's progress in its decarbonisation targets and make recommendations for the school will consider.
• A new accounting course will aim to create a support system for associations and VSEs/SMEs in the surrounding areas of each of the campuses.

These courses will give students the ability to measure the real impact of their actions and broaden their professional experience to maximise their employability. 

Learn to think differently

The second pillar of the Grow by Doing® approach consists of challenging students to think "differently" by exposing them to more radical and innovative ways of thinking.

To this end, a series of conferences called "Thinking Out Loud", which began in autumn 2021, lets students hear from guest speakers who are recognised for their original and forward-looking thinking. "By encouraging our students to think differently about subjects such as inclusion, diversity, and certain technological advances, we aim to provide them with the keys they need to examine their own ways of thinking and to become players in the transformation economy. These different skills will effectively enable them to stand out in the working world," explained Aurélie Dehling.

The first Thinking Out Loud conference was on “Josephine Dared: Black cultures matter"! This conference, which was very reflective of current issues, paid tribute to Josephine Baker's acceptance into the Panthéon. At the same time, the universal nature of black cultures was addressed from a dual perspective - artistic and historical - through the eyes of a historian and a musician.

The second event, which took place on 1 February, dealt with "The Globalisation of Culture". The conference planned for March will deal with "The Hidden Face of the Energy Transition".

Enhancing the student’s educational track

Another central feature of this new direction is the introduction of several courses, subjects, tracks, and majors aimed at enriching the curriculum, thereby broadening the scope of students' knowledge and soft skills. 

In line with objective, a "full English" course is now offered in the first year of the bachelor degree programme (L3). 

Students will also give their profile an additional depth by choosing two options during the first year from the "Data or Finance" and the "Culture and Society or Innovation/Entrepreneurship" categories. 

Additionally, several new courses will be offered to first-year master students as of the beginning of the next academic year:

• a mandatory public speaking course and a public speaking competition,
• a class called "Penser 2050" ("Think 2050") which will focus on a specific issue projected for each upcoming year so they can "unpack the world of tomorrow" and co-construct content on topics such as mobility and society,
• a new major in the social and solidarity economies,
• a module entitled "The Dark Side of Management Sciences", the aim of which is to develop students' critical thinking skills by introducing them to the hidden side of companies in the marketing, HR and financial sectors

a course entitled "Trust me, I am an AI" on the issues related to the use of artificial intelligence and its consequences.

The second-year will include a course on the subject of "complexity". 

An increase in the period spent abroad

The Grow by Doing® pedagogical approach also includes a wider openness to the world aspect. The compulsory study period abroad has been extended from 6 to 12 months. Going abroad for 12 months is now required for a degree.

These 12 months can be spent either:

• as an exchange student at one of the programme’s partner universities, or
• as an internship in an international company. 

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE GRANDE ECOLE PROGRAMME

PRESS RELEASE